I just shared a post on my efforts to update the tech throughout our house- from our wifi mesh network to our watering system. Well, my efforts don’t stop there! I also budgeted for new bedding and towels. And we took the opportunity to clean out our linen closet- and boy did it need it!
Like much of the tech and appliances around our house, much of our linens are about six years old- dating from the month we moved into this house. And I am sorry to say that very little has been updated since then. As a result, we have a very dingy and mismatched pile of bedding, towels and miscellaneous in our linen closet. For whatever reason, we are pretty rough on towels and those (formerly) pristine white towels are downright grey. It’s time to replace bedding and towels!
On top of that, Dear Husband is a stickler for fresh pillows. He has made sure that he has relatively new pillows, while the rest of the household gets by with sadder and floppier pillows. Apparently we’re supposed to replace our pillows every 1-3 years?? Ummm, it’s been a lot longer than that for most of the pillows in the house.
And while I did buy some new bedding, pillows and towels for the guest room, over the years, various unnamed people have pilfered those for their own use. It was time to clear it all out and start over!
It’s not too dissimilar from a clothing closet clean-out
The principles are the same as what I used to clean out my closet for the Winter-Summer transition. Take everything out. Wipe down the closet and shelves. Be unflinching in your assessment of each item.
- Is it stained or ripped? Goodbye! Same thing for plain dingy
- Do you have a full set of sheets, towels? I’m 50+ years old- my sheets should match at this point. No more 20-something hodge-podge
- Do you have enough of everything? Enough towels to account for laundry day? Enough pillows? Or when guests are coming, are you frantically stealing pillows from other bedrooms?
- Do you actually use the stuff in your linen closet? Dear Husband was hoarding vases “in case I want to take flowers to someone.” That has happened perhaps once in our marriage. No need for 4 spare (cheap) vases!
Time to replenish your stocks
Over the years, I have developed a short list of places to buy certain things. Not the cheapest (yep, no amazon affiliate links here!) But I keep coming back to certain merchants and brands time and time again when it’s time to replace bedding and towels.
- Sheets: Garnet Hill. I particularly like their percale sheets. Also a great source for flannel sheets
- Towels: I like RH (Restoration Hardware). Kate also votes for Pottery Barn.
- Pillows, duvet inserts: Boll and Branch. Check out Garnet Hill too (a bit cheaper)
- Blankets: I am loving handmade blankets from Maine. NOT CHEAP. But will probably last a lifetime. Swan Island, Brahms Mount, Maine Heritage Weavers, and even LL Bean are good sources. Of course LLB will be a quite bit cheaper.
Put this in your budget every 5 years
I feel like the day I give up on trying to have fresh bedding and towels will be the day when I’m throwing in the towel (see what I did there??) on life. I really don’t want Sophie and my future grandchildren (or granddogs) showing up to a house filled with slow wifi, torn and mismatched towels, and uncomfortable beds. My mom definitely started to give up on that stuff before she died. It’s just depressing to dry yourself with a dingy towel. So do yourself a favor and invest in new linens. It will cheer you up every day!
